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Mathew Knowles Says His Daughter Beyoncé Wouldn't Be So Successful If She Had Darker Skin

Mathew Knowles managed his daughter Beyoncé’s career while she was in Destiny's Child, before she ventured into having a solo career. Mathew believes colorism played a role in Beyoncé’s success, suggesting her light skin played a role in her rise to fame.

Knowles is currently promoting his new book, Racism: From the Eyes of a Child, and is causing controversy with his statement on his press tour.

Mathew was discussing colorism in the music industry and admits his daughters, Beyoncé and Solange, might not have been as popular if they had darker skin.

In a new interview with Ebony, Knowles pointed out that many big names in music are light skinned.

The college professor said, "I challenge my students at Texas Southern to think about this. When it comes to Black females, who are the people who get their music played on pop radio? Mariah Carey, the female rapper Nicki Minaj, my kids [Beyoncé and Solange], and what do they have in common?"

Beyoncé rose to fame in 1988 when she won the Baby Junior Award at the Sammy Awards, a ceremony held to honor Sammy Davis Jr. She joined a girlband, Girls Tyme, when she was just 8-years-old.

Mathew ended up quitting his full-time sales job to co-manage the girl band two years later. The band later changed its name to Destiny's Child, going on to sign a seven-album deal with Columbia/Sony three years later.

Knowles co-managed Destiny's Child for years until she decided to end their business relationship in 2011.

Mathew went on to become a professor and author. His latest book on race relations has resulted in some eyebrow-raising comments.

The 66-year-old recently opened up about his own experience with colorism growing up. Mathew claimed he first thought that his now-ex-wife, Tina Knowles, was a white woman when they met.

He claimed, "I actually thought when I met Tina, my former wife, that she was White. Later I found out that she wasn’t, and she was actually very much in-tune with her Blackness."

He said that his preference for white or light-skinned black women was due to the way he was raised.

Mathew explained, "When I was growing up, my mother used to say, 'Don’t ever bring no nappy-head Black girl to my house.' In the deep South in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the shade of your Blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message. And this had a lasting effect. I used to date mainly White women or very high-complexion Black women that looked White... I had been conditioned from childhood."

What do you think about Mathew stating Beyoncé’s success is partly due to her skin color?

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